Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, Wizardry and Supernatural
by yasumita
Summary: Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, Wizardry and the Supernatural, where you learn to control your magic and fight things that go bump in the night. So enjoy your stay and have a butterbeer on your way. And try not to get killed before September 1.


Once upon a time in a shabby little pub, behind which lay the entrance to the magical world of Diagon Alley, there lived a young boy named Dean Winchester, along with his brother, Sam.

The young Winchesters lived in room number eleven of Leaky Cauldron, where they had been living since Dean was six (and Sam five) –a year after their dad fled from their home in Godric's Hollow. For a year, Dean and Sam had lived with their neighbours, the Novaks, and when the year was up, they had moved into their current place of residence, which had been owned by Granpa Novak before he passed it down to his son, Christo Novak, and retired.

The Winchesters had therefore been living with the Novaks since that night –the night where John Winchester had given his older son's scared, shocked and betrayed face one last glance before snatching up his wand and hunting bag and running off into the night. Both Dean and Sam knew that they were not blood related to the Novaks (they were not like those small clueless kids, thank you very much. They were not four anymore, you know), but they didn't really mind it, because like Papa Novak said, _You don't have to be blood to be family_.

And so, the two had lived as a part of a family to the Novaks, spending most of their time playing with the Novak children: Michael, Gabriel, Castiel and Claire.

Claire was the youngest and the only girl among the Novak siblings; Castiel was Dean's age and his best friend, with dark brown hair and the bluest eyes Dean had ever come across in his young life so far; Gabriel was only a year older than Dean and Castiel, and he was the naughtiest of the four siblings, his renowned pranks earning him the title 'the Trickster' from everyone who knew him –and a lot of grounding from his dad; and lastly, there was Michael, two years older than Gabriel and therefore oldest of the four.

And though the Winchesters were not blood to the Novaks, they were still as much a part of the family as Albus Dumbledore was the greatest wizard of all time.

o.O.o

Our story starts on a fine sunny day, two months after Dean's eleventh birthday, when Dean and Castiel were playing merrily on the roof of Leaky Cauldron (despite Papa Novak's warning not to). The two young boys were swishing around their fake wands, making dramatic hand movements and shouting out 'Abra ca dabra!' at each other, when they saw two tawny owls, with envelops clutched in their beak, heading their direction, flying straight at them before swiftly gliding down and out of view.

Dean and Castiel looked at each other in dumbfounded excitement. They knew what those owls meant. They'd seen it happen twice already –to Gabriel and Michael.

The duo scurried to get off the roof and inside the pub where they knew the owls had gone, forgetting their fake wands in the mad scramble, and the first thing Dean heard the moment he stepped inside the shade of the pub was his little brother's shout of _'Dean!'_ from their room.

Muttering a small _shit_ under his breath, Dean ran along the corridor and towards his room, flying down two stairs at a time.

"Dean," Castiel called out, hurrying after the taller boy, albeit in a slower pace.

"Go, Cas." Dean shouted over his shoulder, sparing a glance at his best friend. "I'll be there in a moment. Gotta check on Sammy first."

Satisfied with his best friend's fervent nod, Dean continued his mad dash, giving out a huge sigh of relief when he finally saw their room. Completing the last few strides, he hurriedly threw open the door, only to come face with an empty room.

Well, or so he thought, and that was only because Sam wasn't lying on his bed or sitting on his study table chair, hunched over some interesting book like he usually was.

Dean quickly scanned the room and breathed another sigh of relief when he saw his brother standing on the windowsill, his back facing the room and blocking Dean's view of whatever was on the other side.

The older Winchester stepped inside the room, and when he realised that his brother hadn't noticed him yet, his lips curled into a mischievous smile.

"Watcha doing, Sammy?"

Sam let out a high pitched squeal (_did not!_, Sam would argue later), and jumped a foot in the air, before turning around to glare at his brother, who was too busy guffawing on the floor to even pay attention to anything else.

"Are you done yet?" Sam asked, his left eye twitching as his brother's loud laughter slowed down. After finally calming down, Dean nodded and got up with a huge grin on his face, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Good." Sam promptly said, shifting aside to reveal one of those tawny owls standing on the windowsill.

Dean stared at the owl in amazement. "Is that…?" he asked, not willing to believe that it was for him, Dean Winchester.

Sam nodded happily. "Yep!" he said, petting the owl softly on the head, an envelope still tucked in its beak.

"Read it." Dean ordered. Sam rolled his eyes, but obliged, tugging the envelope slowly from the owl's clutch.

Just like the boys had witnessed twice before, the envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald green ink. There was no stamp. The younger Winchester was busy opening the envelop, addressed to _Dean Winchester, Room number 11, The Leaky Cauldron_, with delicate hands, when both the brothers realised that the owl was still there. Dean stared at the owl for a minute, before looking at his brother questioningly. Sam only shrugged, none the wiser. Both of them stared at the owl, which kept staring back at them.

Then, after a few minutes of silent staring, the half-opened envelop momentarily forgotten, Dean all but saw a light bulb go above his brother's head.

"It's waiting to be paid!" Sam cried, smacking his forehead, probably thinking something along the lines of _how could I have forgotten?!_

Dean watched in amusement as his brother scrambled around the room, searching for the coin box that Dean had hidden behind the closet just to annoy him.

Sam eyed his sniggering brother from the corner of his eyes. "Stop being such a jerk, Dean." He cried, flipping over his pillow and rummaging through the drawers. "Where did that stupid coin box go?"

Dean rolled his eyes at his frantic brother and, not yet ready to show him just where he had hidden their collection box, he reached into his jeans' pocket and pulled out a handful of coins that he'd taken out of their coin box last night. "Five knuts, right?" Dean asked a calming Sam, who nodded.

Approaching the owl, Dean counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Dean could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the window.

It was only a minute after Dean watched the owl fly off that he realised something.

"Why did we just pay that owl?" Dean asked, turning around to face his brother and narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Gabe and Mike never paid the owl when they received their letter."

Sam instantly looked sheepish. "I uh, might have ordered today's newspaper." He said, grabbing a rolled up newspaper Dean hadn't noticed before from his study desk.

"Aren't you a little too young for newspapers?" Dean rolled his eyes. "Anyway, go on –read my letter!"

Sam's face brightened instantly and he resumed the previously disturbed process of opening the envelope that was sealed closed with a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a larger letter _H_.

Dean felt giddy with excitement as he watched his brother pull out two letters that Dean already knew contained his invitation to Hogwarts, and his list of school books, equipment and uniform. Sam took the first letter and read it silently, his eyes flying through the paper and his face brightening even more with every passing second.

Sam looked up from the letter and gave his brother an almost blinding smile. "You're going to Hogwarts, Dean."

Dean believed his brother; he really did.

But he felt like he would burst unless he held that letter in his hands and read it himself.

Striding over to Sam, he snatched the letter out of his hands and read it.

And long after he finished reading the letter, he stood frozen.

"Hey, Dean?" Sam asked tentatively. "Are you okay."

Dean didn't even hear his brother.

He was going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, Wizardry and Supernatural –the most beautiful place in the whole magical world, and he felt like jumping up and down like those girls he often saw in Diagon Alley, who would squeal and jump about whenever they saw posters of that blonde guy (Gilly Asshat? Golroy Badheart?) with sparkly teeth.

He felt euphoric.

But just as soon as the feeling had come, it went away. He snapped his head up to look at his brother (who was already starting to get taller than Dean, dammit!) and instantly felt guilty for even _thinking_ about leaving him behind.

"Don't worry, Sammy. I won't go to that stupid school." Dean scoffed. "Who wants to go there anyway? I hear they make students dissect frogs as punishment."

"Are you okay, Dean?" Sam furrowed his eyebrows. "And that's the muggle schools you're talking about. And they don't think of it as punishment. They learn animal anatomy in some weird subject called science."

"Yeah, well, whatever, nerd-brain." Dean said nonchalantly. "I'm not leaving you behind."

Sam shook his head. "Dean, you want to go to Hogwarts –I know you do. You have ever since you first heard about it, and I don't want you to squash your dreams just because you think you should stay behind to take care of me."

"Look, Sam." Dean said, folding his hands in front of him stubbornly. "I'm not going there, and that's that."

Sam was only able to get out "No, Dean, listen to me-", before a very excited Castiel came bounding inside the room, heading straight for his best friend.

"Look, Dean, look what I got!" Cas shouted excitedly, shoving a familiar letter under Dean's nose.

"Woah there," Dean said, pushing Cas back before he could forget all about their 'personal space' talk and be all over him. "Slow down, Cas." He plucked the letter from his best friend's hands, and though he already knew what it was, he read it anyway.

It was, of course, a letter from Hogwarts, inviting Cas to attend the school which started on September 1. It was the same letter he'd gotten.

Dean looked up to see Cas taking the paper from Sam inspecting his own letter. The darker haired boy looked up at the same time, and suddenly, Dean was engulfed in a hug.

"I knew we'd both make it." Cas whispered into Dean's ear. "Not even Hogwarts could possibly separate us."

Dean smiled a sad smile into his friend's shoulder. No matter how much he loved his best friend and didn't want to be separated, Sam would always come first in his life.

"Cas." Dean breathed, reluctantly detaching himself from Castiel's embrace. He looked Cas in the eye, and tried to tell him what no words could.

That he loved Cas, but he couldn't leave Sam alone, not like their dad had left them. Sam was his world, and even though Cas had become a huge part in it, Sam was his only living family, and as an older brother, it was his job to take care of his little brother. And he couldn't do that if they weren't together.

"I'm not going."

At first, Castiel thought he'd heard it wrong. _I'm not going_ –why would Dean say that? They'd been dreaming about getting into Hogwarts since forever. What was Dean talking about?

He took a step back. "Dean, what are you talking about?" He stood there silently, waiting for his friend to answer.

Dean could see multiple feelings reflecting on Castiel's face –shock, surprise, and finally, pain. He knew he was hurting his best buddy by not going to Hogwarts with him (he had promised, after all), but he just couldn't bear the thought of leaving his little brother behind; Sammy was only ten years old.

"Cas, I'm not going. I can't leave Sam behind." Dean said in a low voice with a bowed head, unable to look in his friend's eyes.

"Dean, listen to me, you have to go." Sam tried from behind Dean.

Dean shook his head. "No."

"Dean -"

Dean swirled around to give his brother a hard look. "No, Sammy. I'm not leaving you alone, and that's final."

And with that, Dean stormed out of the room, leaving two of the most important people in his life to stare at each other.

o.O.o

Dean had no idea where he was going, his vision clouded by anger, until his feet led him to the attic that held the window which would dump him on the roof. He shimmied up the window and landed on the roof, cool breeze hitting him soothingly. It wasn't sunny anymore; the sun was slowly sinking over the horizon, sending spirals of red tendrils spreading across the sky. It would be dark soon.

The young Winchester climbed further up the roof, and when he found a comfortable enough place, he laid on his back, watching the clouds move by.

Dean was close to falling asleep, his eyes already drooped shut, when he heard a grunt and shuffling footsteps approaching. He didn't have to open his eyes to know it was Cas; there was only one person in the whole pub who walked so carefully, so stiffly.

Cas climbed up the roof and sat down beside Dean. He didn't say anything, and the two friends lapsed into a tense silence.

It was Castiel who broke it.

"I understand why you don't want to go, Dean." He said, his voice carrying in the wind. "You love Sam. He is your only family, and you want to stay with him. It is very hard to leave a person you love behind. I understand."

A beat.

"Which is why, I've also decided not to go to Hogwarts either."

Dean's eyes flew wide open as he whipped his head to face his friend. "What the hell are you talking about, Cas?"

Cas shrugged. "You heard me."

"You're crazy, Cas." Dean shook his head. "You can't just decide not to go."

Cas eyed Dean from the corner of his eyes. "You did."

"Yeah, but I can't leave Sam behind!"

"And I, you."

Dean sputtered. "What?"

It was Cas who shook his head this time. "You don't get it, do you, Dean?" he asked, staring up at the sky. "Like I said, it's very hard to leave a person you love behind. Sam is the most important person in your life. You friendship is the most important thing in my life, making you the most important person for me. I can't leave you as much as you can't leave Sam."

Dean stared, dumbfounded, as Cas got up and brushed off his pants. The shorter boy looked down at Dean and, with a smile, said, "I need go to tell my parents. Come down whenever you feel like it, Dean." before moving to the window and disappearing inside it.

Dean turned it head back up towards the sky and closed his eyes, trying to rearrange his thoughts. What the hell had just happened? But before he could get far, another set of footsteps shuffled their way towards him.

It was Sam this time.

Dean cracked one eye open to peer down at Sam, who was standing on the edge of the roof, leaning heavily on his hands on the roof tiles to balance himself. "Whatcha doin' up here, Sammy?"

Sam slowly made his way towards his brother, and when he was safely tucked beside him, he gave a deep, relieved sigh. "I came to talk to you."

Dean closed his eye shut again. "You are talking." He smirked when he heard the younger boy huff beside him.

"Dean -" Sam started, but Dean interrupted before he could get any more words out.

"Look, Sammy," Dean said gruffly. "I'm not going, okay? Just drop it already."

Sam made a sound of exasperation. "Just hear me out, okay? If you don't want to go, then fine, I can't make you go. But come on, just hear me out."

Dean grunted in answer, which must've meant '_go on_' because Sam let out another relieved sigh.

"Look," he started. "I know you're worried about leaving me alone. And I understand that. If I had a younger brother who was my only family, I'd be reluctant about leaving him too. But, just because you want me to be happy doesn't mean that you should go around crushing your dream. It may come as a surprise to you, Dean, but I can survive without you." –Dean snorted, making Sam poke his arm- "Besides, I'm not going to be alone here, you know. There's still Mr. and Mrs. Novak, and Claire -she's still too young to go to Hogwarts. I'll be happy with them. And besides, you'll come home for the holidays, and you can tell me all about school, then. It's only a year, Dean. Heck, it's not even a year, what with all the holidays. It'll be over before you know it, and we'll ride the train together next year."

Dean sighed. Why did his brother always have to make so much sense? In his panic, he'd totally forgotten that they were not alone. There were Mr. and Mrs. Novak, who'd taken them in so kindly, and Claire. Sammy wouldn't be alone. Sammy would be fine.

He slowly opened his eyes and pushed himself to his feet, carefully making his way towards the edge before sauntering over to the open window.

"Where are you going?" Sam called out.

Dean glance over to his brother and smirked. "I have something to do" was all he said before disappearing down the window.

o.O.o

Dean knocked on the door of room number 10 and waited for the 'come in!' before turning the knob and stepping inside. The room was clean and tidy, as always, with beds made meticulously and everything kept in their rightful place. Dean's eyes landed on Cas, who was sitting on the window seat with an open book perched on his lap, staring at Dean questioningly.

"What's the matter, Dean?" Cas asked, bookmarking his page and closing the book shut.

Dean shrugged. "Did you tell your parents about not going?"

"No," Cas shook his head. "Not yet. They're out in Diagon Alley."

"Good," Dean grinned, before quickly striding over to his best friend and pulling him in a tight hug. "Because we're going to Hogwarts."


End file.
